Leland F. Docken v. Doug Chase

Montana state prisoner Leland F. Dock-en brings this federal habeas petition challenging, as here pertinent, the Montana parole board’s refusal to provide him with annual review of his suitability for parole. The district court dismissed this claim as not properly cognizable under the federal habeas statute, 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . Because such parole-based claims' — which may, but will not necessarily, affect the duration of a prisoner’s confinement if meritorious- — -are cognizable via habeas, we reverse the district court’s dismissal of Docken’s petition and remand for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.

I. Background

In September 1984, Docken pleaded guilty in a Jefferson County, Montana, court to committing “deliberate homicide” by murdering his father-in-law. See MONT. CODE ANN. § 45-5-102. Dock-en was sentenced to 100 years in prison and designated, for purposes of parole eligibility, a “dangerous offender.” See id. § 46-18-404 (repealed 1995). Docken’s plea and sentence were affirmed by the Montana Supreme Court. See State v. Docken, 222 Mont. 58 , 720 P.2d 679 (1986).

In late 2001, the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole (“Board”) denied parole in…